Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall answers questions about the identification of the remains of Jesse Wilson on March 27, 2018. Jesse had been missing since July 2016; his remains were found March 8. Mark Henle/azcentral.com

Jesse Wilson's picture sat in the front lobby of the school. He vanished July 17, 2016.(Photo: Robert Gundran/The Republic)

Buckeye Police Department investigators were “inching” their way toward a no-body homicide case against Jesse Wilson’s mother five weeks after the boy went missing in 2016, according to a department email.

Police and the FBI began drafting a “to-do” list in the weeks after Crystal Wilson reported her 10-year-old son missing from their Buckeye home.

At the same time, Mark Mann, then-assistant police chief, said he was planning to use “contacts and influence” with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to “ensure we have the best prosecutor for the case" against Crystal Wilson, email records show.

Jesse Wilson, 10, disappeared from his Buckeye home on July 17, 2016.(Photo: Buckeye Police Department)

Wilson, who now lives in the Atlanta area, has not been charged.

The new information became available after The Arizona Republic reviewed two emails that referenced the case.

They were attached to an exhaustive and unrelated investigation into Mann’s alleged wrongdoing and hostility within the Buckeye Police Department.

Chief Larry Hall confirmed the goal had been to build a case against the boy's adoptive mother weeks after she reported him missing July 18, 2016 — even without his remains.

“We as an agency determined we would like to move forward to at least attempting charging if this was possible without a body,” Hall told The Republic in an interview late Thursday.

Jesse's absence dominated the news for several weeks that summer as law-enforcement officials and civilian volunteers searched for him.

The leading public theory since Jesse was reported missing was that the boy might have wandered from home, as he was known to do. Searchers combed fields and neighborhoods searching for any sign of him, to no avail.

"We want to wait until we have absolutely everything together," Hall said, adding that investigators are awaiting more details from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office and a "green light" from prosecutors before proceeding. "There's quite a few things we need in order to make this happen."

Police interviewed Crystal Wilson multiple times after the boy's disappearance. She was notified of his remains being located, but they have not conducted a follow-up interview because "there's no need to," Hall said.

A sign displays the hashtag #LeadJesseHome outside the Bradley Academy in Goodyear on Sunday, July 24, 2016. Jesse Wilson, a 10-year-old student at the school, went missing last week.
Ben Moffat/The Republic

Jill McCabe, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said the bureau was "providing assistance as we have done in the past and will continue to do in the future at the request of our law enforcement partners.” She deferred to Buckeye police, the lead investigative agency.

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Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall answers questions about the Jesse Wilson case, March 27, 2018, during a press conference at the Buckeye Police Department, 21699 West Yuma Road, Buckeye. Jesse’s remains were found March 8, he had been missing since July 2016.
Mark Henle/The Republic

Detective Tamela Skaggs (right) answers questions about the Jesse Wilson case, March 27, 2018, during a press conference at the Buckeye Police Department, 21699 West Yuma Road, Buckeye. Jesse’s remains were found March 8, he had been missing since July 2016.
Mark Henle/The Republic

Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall answers questions about the Jesse Wilson case, March 27, 2018, during a press conference at the Buckeye Police Department, 21699 West Yuma Road, Buckeye. Jesse’s remains were found March 8, he had been missing since July 2016.
Mark Henle/The Republic

Detective Tamela Skaggs answers questions about the Jesse Wilson case, March 27, 2018, during a press conference at the Buckeye Police Department, 21699 West Yuma Road, Buckeye. Jesse’s remains were found March 8, he had been missing since July 2016.
Mark Henle/The Republic

Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall answers questions about the Jesse Wilson case, March 27, 2018, during a press conference at the Buckeye Police Department, 21699 West Yuma Road, Buckeye. Jesse’s remains were found March 8, he had been missing since July 2016.
Mark Henle/The Republic